As anyone in a long-distance relationship would probs tell you, being away from your partner can be especially tough on holidays like Valentine’s Day. But if you think you can’t celebrate it long-distance, we’re here to prove you wrong—a long-distance Valentine’s Day isn’t only super doable, but it can also be just as romantic as it would be IRL. You might not be able to be physically together, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be emotionally present and show your partner you’re thinking about them! And the best part? It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. Sometimes the most thoughtful ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day are the most simple, and the most meaningful things you can give the person you love is your undivided time and attention. You don’t have to be together IRL to show you care! (One more time for the people in the back—it really is the thought that counts!)
Maybe this is your first long-distance Valentine’s Day with someone new. Or perhaps you and your long-term SO are long-distance for a temporary period. It’s also possible one or both of you is traveling for work or family things. Whatever the situation may be, we know you miss your person, especially now. That’s why we put together this master list of 45 long-distance Valentine’s Day ideas, where you’ll find virtual activities, games, gift ideas, sexy inspo, and more. There are free ideas, low-cost ideas, ideas that err on the spendier side because they’re actually really freaking cool (ahem, personalized Cameo, anyone?). We’ve got small gestures, elaborate surprises, chill at-home date ideas, or activities you can physically do apart, together (ahem, long-distance vibrators). There’s no reason to not enjoy the most romantic day of the year with the person you love, no matter how far. Below, some ideas on where to start.
1. Have Someone Else Plan It
First suggestion: If you're really struggling with the idea of pulling together a cute V-Day day (or if it's just not your thing), what if you enlist the help of someone else? Everyone loves a surprise, so give a pal a budget (+ your credit card) and have them figure out the deets. This way, you don't have to go back and forth debating *what* you should do, bc someone else (who really knows you!) will do it for you. Plus, it'll be a surprise for both of you. Win/win/win.
2. Create Custom Scents For Each Other
Perfume is a classic romantic gift because scent is *strongly* connected to memory. Instead of gifting your SO a random bottle of spritz, order custom scent experience boxes from Olfactory NYC and create new perfumes together. Pull up FaceTime or Zoom and have a sniff sesh before submitting picks for each other. From then on, you’ll not only have a unique signature scent, but you’ll have the memory of making it with someone you love.
3. Read a Book Aloud Together
It’s basically like the old-fashioned version of listening to an audiobook. Pick a book (or series) you’re both interested in, snag copies for each of you, and then take turns reading the chapters aloud. To make it extra cute, inscribe the book with a special note for your love to see when you start the story on V-Day! It’s like the ultimate love note/book combo. Très romantique.
4. ...Or Read Some Tarot
Learning a new skill together is always exciting, but when it's one that can predict your future/help you practice self-care/understand your zodiac sign, it's even better. Grab a new tarot deck (ahem, maybe Cosmo's tarot deck?!), light some incense, and get ~moody~ with your V-Day. Who knows? The cards might reveal that your love will stop being long-distance before long...
5. Have a Lil Spa Day
An actual spa day might be out of the question, but that doesn't mean you can't still unwind together. Send your partner a package complete with face masks, personal massagers (*wink wink*), some aromatherapy, and get your zen on. If you want to start the date off with an even more romantic twist, consider booking a professional massage for your partner before continuing the rest of your home spa day over Zoom.
6. Start From the Beginning and Re-create Your First Date
Reminiscing about your relationship is a sweet way to celebrate your time together. Recreate your first date (with a few changes, since you're both virtual). Spend the evening on Zoom reflecting on the good memories you’ve had together, why you chose to be in a relationship, and what you’re looking forward to in the years to come. For good measure, order a similar cuisine, cocktail, or coffee to what you had on your first date!
7. Play an Online Game
There are so many two-player games that you and your partner can play together, and you don’t even have to have a console. Games like Scrabble or Monopoly can be easily bought from your phone’s app store. You can even add a little prize for the winner (maybe a sexy virtual strip tease, hmm..) to make the game more interesting.
8. Attend a Virtual Yoga Class Together
You know what they say: Couples who exercise together, stay together. Or, maybe that’s just propaganda, but it sure is a great date idea for long-distance relationships. You can take a class with Glo, an online yoga app that has hundreds of yoga, pilates, and meditation tutorials for you and SO to try out. If you want to go the free route, go old school and head to YouTube! You can FaceTime each other (or Zoom too) and work out together. A little sweaty, yes, but just as romantic.
9. Take Some Fun Personality Quizzes
Even if you think you already know everything there is to know about your partner, there’s always room for more. People are constantly evolving (you included), so use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to fill in those knowledge gaps. Lucky for you, we already rounded up a whole list of personality quizzes to take with your partner. From ways to improve your sex life to getting-to-know-you questions that go deep, these quizzes go beyond the love languages you already know and love.
10. Plan a Miracle Berry Date Night
Ever heard of miracle berries? No? Well, they're tiny tablets that make sweet food taste sour and vice versa by temporarily changing the shape of your taste buds—aka, a supes fun date activity. You and your partner can try different foods and record each other’s reactions (because eating donut-tasting hot sauce is hilarious). Add each other’s reactions to a special gallery on your phone, so whenever you’re missing your SO, you’ll have memories of that v special night.
11. Attend a Virtual Wine Tasting
Can’t make it to Italy this year? No problem. Escape your apartments via the tastes and textures of delicious wine sent right to your door. Companies like Voluptuary Wine offer wine-tasting kits in varying sizes, and even includes the option to book a guided virtual tour with an expert. If you want to be extra cute, ship them a bottle of the wine they liked the most after you compare notes post-tasting.
12. Get Personal
In 2015, the New York Times published an article called “36 Questions that Lead to Love,” all about a set of questions designed to bring you closer to someone. But they work just as well if you’re already in love, too. Spend the night on the phone asking your partner things on the list like, "What would constitute a 'perfect' day for you?" or, "If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?" This will help you get to know them that much better.
13. Send Them a Pillow Sprayed With Your Signature Scent
Scent is a powerful sense! Keep yours fresh on their mind by sending something cute to cuddle with, or even a new jacket in their size, sprayed in the scent they always smell the moment they see you.
14. Gift Them a Long-Distance Love Bracelet
Long-distance relationships aren’t what they used to be when your parents were growing up. Today there’s all sorts of technology that makes staying in love while being apart easier, like these Bond Touch love bracelets that you can share with your significant other. You can send a buzz to your partner’s bracelet whenever you’re thinking of them and even have space to message privately in an encrypted chat space within the connected app. So yeah, you can send sexy messages without risk of anyone else ever seeing them.
15. Craft a Date-Night Scavenger Hunt
Of course, you wish you could be there to make a special dinner together in person, but there are ways to make it happen when you can't be together. Write up a grocery list for your SO to shop without telling them what the dish is going to be. See if they can guess it, cook it with them over FaceTime and watch how it comes together in real time. If you want to take it further, send them the address of a bake shop in their area with a prepaid decadent dessert for them to pick up, courtesy of you, the most thoughtful partner ever.
16. Plan a Trip Together.
Get on the phone (or FaceTime, Zoom—whatever your preferred method of LDR communication!), make a Google spreadsheet, and plan a vacation together to somewhere neither of you has ever been. One of you looks for flight deals, the other looks for hotels, then bounce ideas off each other for activities, transportation, shows, you know the drill. Then when you’re ready, bite the bullet and book it. (Or book it at the time!) Having something to look forward to can make the distance feel a little less daunting.
17. Buy Them a Cameo
Some of your partner’s favorite celebs might be on Cameo—a service where you pay to have a famous person record a personalized video for you or someone you love. Some standouts: Tom Felton from Harry Potter, Kate Flannery (Meredith) from The Office, Ice T—casual!
18. Get Them a Singing Telegram
Maybe talk to their boss or their roommate first, but if you’re 100 percent sure your partner isn’t going to get fired for receiving a singing telegram on V-Day, this is a cute, LOL-worthy option. Yes, you can pay for a service to send someone dressed up like a heart (or Cupid—costumes vary by company) to serenade your partner at home or at the office. It can be a real hoot for them and their coworkers if you know it’ll be a welcome surprise!
19. Eat Cake By the Ocean (Like, Literally or Via a Zoom Background)
Maybe the beach is your backyard. Maybe it’s not. Whatever the case, surprise your partner with a customized cake for V-Day and one for yourself (check out these ones by Bake Me a Wish!), get a fork, go outside, and pretend like you’re celebrating together via FaceTime or Zoom. The ambiance of some fresh air + the cake makes it less likely you’ll be sad that you’re not physically with your partner. Plus, cake makes everything better. Period.
20. Have Some Fun with a Couples Sex Toy
Told you long-distance V-Day could be sexy. Sex-toy brands like We-Vibe and Satisfyer both have apps that can be downloaded on your phone. So when you purchase a vibrator or sex toy compatible with the app, you can control the pressure, speed pulses, etc. all from within the app itself. The best part: With consent from you, it also lets your partner control your toy from their phone. This means that no matter the distance, your partner can join you during your masturbation session. Hot.
21. Take a Sex Class Together
Seriously, book a sex-oriented virtual class together. Whether it focuses on cunnilingus, tantra sex, sex toys, or whatever else, it’ll be a fun experience that can bring you together. Alternative suggestion: Tyomi Morgan, one of Cosmo’s regular experts, offers an amazing cowgirl-riding class for $250 individually or a monthly membership of $25. One Cosmopolitan writer wrote in a previous article, “Above just a way to learn about becoming an A+ dick rider, this workout is a safe place to work on your confidence, show yourself that you can be sexy with or without a partner, and help alleviate any built-up tension or anxiety you may be experiencing.” Try it and then show your partner all you ~learned~ via Zoom.
22. Listen to Audio Porn Together
If you prefer the sounds to the visuals of porn, audio porn may be your new fave thing. And what’s hotter than listening to porn with your partner on the sexiest day of the year? Apps like Dipsea feature short-form audio stories that “spark couples’ imaginations and get them in the mood, no matter how far apart they are.” So yeah, consider this a surefire way to spice up your V-Day date night festivities.
23. Mentally and Emotionally Check In with Each Other
If you’re a big words of affirmation couple, journaling is The Move. Use it as a method to check in with your partner this V-Day. You can invest in these sweet Partner Appreciation Notes, where each of you writes something you appreciate about the other every day—then share it with each other on V-Day. Or you can buy a Date Deck like this one, which prompts you with 50 conversation starters as a lil V-Day game to take the pressure off monotonous conversation.
24. Stream a Movie or Show at the Same Time Online
Sooo…you’re dying to watch a new series that just dropped on Netflix, but you want to enjoy it with your person. Fair! Stream the same show at the same time and maintain communication through text or FaceTime so you can get all their juicy reactions—and even eat the same snacks to make it feel like you’re really together. Better yet, try Teleparty, a Chrome extension that lets you watch simultaneously with someone (or several people) without having to sync up together manually.
25. Play a Not-Boring Card Game Together
Both of you can head over to your nearest store (or hit up Amazon Prime) and grab a game of Cards Against Humanity, Truth or Dare, or Taboo to add some excitement and competition to your night of video-chatting. If you want to make the experience extra special, grab BestSelf Co.’s Intimacy Deck. The cards are specifically written for couples to ask each other deep questions that foster intimate conversations, so you can get to know each other even better.
26. Take a Matching Pic in Different Places
We promise, it’s cute. Put your photography and Photoshop skills to the test by meshing together two separately-taken pics in completely different locations. You can play around with poses, objects, and scenery to create an artsy version of a photo you two would have taken if you were physically together.
27. Get Crafty
Grab your crafting supplies and get that creativity flowing. Your virtual crafting date can include painting on a canvas, sculpting with clay, or decorating a plain box or scrapbook. You can even turn to Pinterest for some cute DIY project ideas that you’ll both enjoy. If DIY isn't quite your thing, do a quick Google search for virtual sip-and-play classes. Find one you like and create a masterpiece.
28. Enjoy a Sunrise or Sunset Together
Whether it’s at the beach, on a rooftop, or from your bedroom window, coordinate a time to video-chat that coincides with the sun setting or rising. If time zones are a problem, share your sunset/sunrise with them through video and vice versa.
29. Gift Them a Spotify Playlist
Include all the bops that remind you of your boo plus the songs that have a special meaning to you and your relationship—like the one that was playing the first time you were in the car together, or maybe even the song a passerby was humming while you shared your first kiss. Keep the playlist private between only you two and listen whenever you’re feeling lonely.
Alternative suggestion: Using Spotify’s Jam feature, share your fave songs with your partner in a playlist or send each other prompts like “Play a song that reminds you of me” and “Play a song that will always have a special place in your heart.” It’s the easiest, best way to get to know your partner on a ~deeper~ level.
30. Arrange a FaceTime Dinner Date
Amp up your normal FaceTime sessions by “going on a date together.” Both of you can cook your own favorite meals and then set them up in front of your camera to have a virtual dinner date. Want to make it official? Try a virtual cooking class together. Oh, and obviously you’ll want some dessert too, so make it easy by sending them their fave sweet via delivery.
31. Have Their Favorite Meal Delivered
If you’re not big on cooking, you can still have a virtual dinner date. Punch in their address on your fave delivery app and surprise them by sending their go-to take-out order. Nothing says “love” like takeout.
32. Make a Photo Spread of All Your Favorite Mems
Think: coasters from bars, plane tickets from flying to see each other, football ticket stubs, photos, etc. and collage them on a canvas they can hang up in their room. Construct all this on Valentine’s Day together, or gift it to them and talk about all the memories via FaceTime.
33. Write in a Journal for 365 Days or a Week or a Month—or Whatever Timeline Makes Sense to You
Document all your thoughts, how your day went, and what reminds you of your partner, and gift it to them when you’ve filled up all the pages. This will give them insight into your brain and remind them of how often you think of them.
34. Send a Video Message
Whether you’re singing and dancing to your song or reading a heartfelt love note out loud, sometimes it can be so much more intimate and lovely for your partner to see and hear you rather than reading something themselves.
35. Send Them Something Handmade
A gift doesn’t need to be expensive to be good. A heartfelt card, photo album, or any gift you’ve made yourself shows you put time and thought into it and will serve as a reminder of how much you care even when you’re not physically around.
36. Mail Them Letters Leading Up to V-Day
When the only form of contact between you two is communication over the phone or computer, switching it up can be a little tricky. A week or so leading up to V-Day, start sending your significant other love letters (or print out pictures of you two and send them as postcards) in the mail. Receiving mail that isn’t a bill or an Amazon package these days is rare, which will make your love note even more special and fun to receive.
37. Mail Them a Care Package of Their Favorite Things
Fill a box with a few of their favorite things, whether it’s sweets you can only get from a local shop by your place or a sweatshirt with your signature scent sprayed on it—little mementos will let them know you’re thinking of them.
38. Give Them a Bunch of Letters to Open at Different Times
Fill envelopes with small gifts and sweet letters to cheer up your love based on how they’re feeling at that moment. Label the outside of each envelope with instructions of when to open them, like “for when you’re missing me” and “for when you’re feeling lonely.”
39. Count Down the Days Until You See Each Other Again by Filling a Jar with Slips of Paper Detailing Things You Love About Them
Write as many notes as you have days left so that each day, they can draw one out of the jar to make passing the time a little bit easier. Send them the jar in the mail or give it to them in person when you see each other before Valentine’s Day.
40. Be the First Person They Hear in the Morning and the Last Person They Hear at Night
Get up a little early on V-Day and call your significant other first thing. If you’re used to saving your daily phone calls for nighttime, this will be a sweet little surprise to wake up to. After your busy day, fall asleep talking on the phone at night so it almost feels like you’re right there with them.
41. Plan a V-Day Celebration a Little Off-Season
You don’t have to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14. If the next time you’ll see each other is in March or April, surprise them and plan a full-on Valentine’s Day date for that day instead. They really won’t see it coming, and that’ll make it all the better.
42. Send a Package Full of Goodies and Love Notes to Your Partner’s Roommate or Friend…
…then have them lay out the gifts all over your significant other’s room when they’re not looking. They’ll be shocked to walk in to find handwritten letters and thoughtful surprises from you.
43. Take Advantage of Delivery Services and Surprise Them with Their Favorite Adult Bev
Have a delivery service like Postmates drop off a bottle of your partner’s favorite drink, so you can celebrate together and cheers over FaceTime.
44. Show Up IRL
What’s more romantic than showing up when you’re not expecting to see each other? If you can swing the expense of some extra gas money and the time off from work, the ultimate gift you can give your significant other is time spent together on arguably the most romantic day of the year.
45. Even Better, Meet Up Somewhere Else
Flying or driving back and forth can get a bit redundant, so celebrate Valentine’s Day with a trip elsewhere instead. Even if it’s just a staycation somewhere local or in the middle, a change of scenery will make it feel more like a special occasion than your usual trips back and forth.
